NO CHANCE: United are still short of title class despite Newcastle win [Action Images]

Louis van Gaal's side have won six out of their last seven league games to creep up to third in the table and are now stalking leaders Chelsea and Manchester City.

All of a sudden some people, including ex-United star Paul Scholes, have started claiming United can win the Premier League this season - even though they are still a whopping TEN points behind.

But they should forget such nonsense now, and instead concentrate on the main task of securing Champions League football for next season.

Yes, United do have it slightly easier than City and Chelsea in that they are not competing in Europe this season, so the pressures on the squad are not so great.

But they are still well short of the strength across the side needed to win a title, despite the excellent run of form over the past two months.

This United side may look awesome going forward but there are still too many frailties at the back and had it not been for David De Gea in goal, those weaknesses may have been more brutally exposed of late.

Both Chelsea and City are sides who can dominate and control matches, cruising to comfortable wins against sides who set up to defend.

Yet United right now are almost set up to be a counter-attacking force - they still don't have the balance across the field to go all out at more negative teams and not look vulnerable themselves on the break.

Van Gaal himself admits his men are still making "very bad" errors, and he himself will know that while publicly he cannot write of the title this season, privately it is a steep too far for this group.

That is not to say the foundations are not there for Old Trafford to be welcoming home the champions in the near future, but there are too many holes right now.

United haven't had a decent defence all season, with injuries and a lack of quality combining to test De Gea's brilliance to the limit.

They need a world class player in the centre of defence, and also another commanding player in a holding role to work alongside the hugely influential Michael Carrick.

That is why Kevin Strootman and Mats Hummels are at the top of the shopping list for the January transfer window. Van Gaal knows he needs a more solid spine to his side if they are to really take on Chelsea and City over the course of 38 games.

So United fans need to forget the title for this season, and just enjoy the ride they are on right now. For they are an emerging force with plenty of goals in them, and plenty of worries at the back too.

It will make for bundles of entertainment over the next five months. But if the eyes are focussed on the title, there will be plenty of disappointment too.